BACnet International PlugFest

Fri, Sep 28, 2018

This year The S4 Group returns to PlugFest with a new product. Consistent with the intent of PlugFest, this will be the first outing for our S4 Open: BACnet-Ecobee Gateway. This product is running under Linux on our S4-designed Cobalt box. So, the hardware platform, the OS environment, and the integration itself are all new technologies. The BACnet-Ecobee Gateway integrates into the Ecobee cloud using the site’s credentials and presents each Ecobee thermostat as an emulated BACnet/IP device to the BACnet enterprise supporting the building. Thus enabling Ecobee technology to scale upwards to support large commercial building installations. BACnet support, the software framework, and all the core system services are ported from our S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router, leveraging successful previous product implementations. We are interested in testing with as many BACnet clients as possible in the time allotted to the event to get as much feedback as possible and would entertain any discussions from other manufacturers who would like to plan test scenarios in advance of the event.

As a condition of participation, we have signed the standard non-disclosure agreements, committing not to disclose the details of any of the test sessions. This agreement sets the stage for an event where all participants can be open and benefit from each other’s expertise and experience without fear of results being used against them. As such, you will not see a follow-up article with details of the tests that were conducted at PlugFest. But, rest assured that we will be leveraging the relationships that are established during the testing to better support mutual customers. There is no other venue where so much can be accomplished in such a compact period of time.